AP-NC–North Carolina News Digest, NC

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TOP STORIES:

TROPICAL WEATHER-HERMINE

DEKLE BEACH, Fla. — The first hurricane to hit Florida in more than a decade wiped away beachside buildings and toppled trees onto homes Friday before plowing inland on a path that could send it rolling up the densely populated East Coast with heavy rain, high winds and flooding. Hermine (her-MEEN) quickly weakened to a tropical storm as it spun through Georgia and the Carolinas. But the National Hurricane Center predicted it would regain hurricane strength after emerging over the Atlantic Ocean. The system could then lash coastal areas as far north as Connecticut and Rhode Island through Labor Day. By Jason Dearen. SENT: 980 words, AP Photos GAATJ203, GAATJ202, FLJR104, FLJR122, GAATJ204, FLJR121, FLJR120, FLJR119, FLJR117, FLJAJ203, FLJAJ201, FLJR116, NY4.

With:

— TROPICAL WEATHER-HERMINE-THE LATEST.

— TROPICAL WEATHER-WEEKEND CANCELLATIONS.

LGBT RIGHTS-NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH — The trial over a North Carolina law restricting restroom access for transgender people is being pushed back by several months, attorneys challenging the law said Friday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peake granted a request from the state’s Republican leaders to delay the North Carolina trial while the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to hear a Virginia case on transgender restroom access, according to a brief entry in the federal court docket. By Jonathan Drew. SENT: 520 words.

SWITCHING STICKERS

WILSON — A North Carolina House member and her husband apologized after he removed her political rival’s campaign sticker from a restaurant door and replaced it with hers. A security camera recorded Republican Rep. Susan Martin of Wilson and her husband dining at a local brewpub Tuesday evening. Multiple media outlets report the footage later shows Dr. Lew Martin peeling Democrat Charlie Pat Farris’ sticker off the door and putting one for his wife’s campaign in its place. SENT: 300 words.

POLICE CADET DIES

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has been fined $7,000 by state labor officials following the death of a police recruit who collapsed during physical fitness training. Jeremy Moseley collapsed July 5 during training to become a police officer and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. WBTV in Charlotte reported that the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office said Moseley died of hyperthermia, and that Moseley’s body temperature was 105.9 degrees when he collapsed. SENT: 260 words.

CAMPAIGN 2016-EARLY VOTING

WASHINGTON — Two months before Election Day, early voting kicks off next week in North Carolina, the first in a run of key states where minority voters and young adults who cast ballots in advance could give one of the White House contenders a decisive advantage. For Donald Trump, it’s a major test of whether his recent outreach to non-white groups is translating into votes. In the increasingly diverse battleground states of North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia — all must-win states for Trump, except Colorado — it’s minorities in particular who can tip the scales. By Hope Yen. SENT: 860 words, AP Photo WX103.

EXCHANGE-FIRST-HAND POLICING

WELDON — Police officers pull over vehicles, respond to domestic calls and do more daily, said Weldon Police Chief Mark Macon, and people will soon be able to experience some of that for themselves. Macon explained Weldon’s new ride along campaign was created to put willing community members right next to officers during their shifts, noting, however, ride alongs have been available year round at the police department. By Khai Hoang, The Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids. SENT: 510 words.

IN BRIEF:

— ATLANTIC COAST PIPELINE, from RICHMOND, Va. — The U.S. Forest Service says it is “highly concerned” about the potential impact a proposed natural gas pipeline could have on a wild brook trout stream in Bath County. SENT: 130 words.

— DOUBLE MURDER-INVESTIGATIVE MISCONDUCT, from DURHAM — A North Carolina prosecutor is dismissing the case against a man imprisoned for two decades before a judge threw out his murder convictions this week. SENT: 120 words.

— HOSPITAL VOLUNTEER-YOUTUBE, from WINSTON-SALEM — The attorney for a former North Carolina hospital volunteer whose racially tinged tirade was posted to YouTube says the charge against her has been dropped. SENT: 130 words.

— CAMPAIGN 2016-TRUMP, from RALEIGH — Donald Trump’s planned visit to eastern North Carolina next week adds to the schedule of top-of-the-ticket candidates coming to the presidential battleground state in the coming days. SENT: 130 words.

— SHIPPING COMPANIES-POLLUTION CHARGES, from WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors say two Greek shipping companies and two of their employees have been convicted of multiple charges after they dumped sludge and waste water into the ocean and tried to cover it up. SENT: 120 words.

SPORTS:

FBC–T25-NORTH CAROLINA-GEORGIA

ATLANTA — Tired of sending countless players to the NFL but going a decade since its last Southeastern Conference championship, Georgia decided that a change in leadership was needed to get to the next level. Exit Mark Richt. By Sports Writer Paul Newberry. SENT: 770 words, AP Photos NY162, NY152, NY162, NY151.

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